


After party blues

by GhostlyGhoulies



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Borderlands 3 - Freeform, Crying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Gen, Grief/Mourning, M/M, Men Crying, Minor Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-12
Updated: 2019-10-12
Packaged: 2020-12-13 16:00:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21000344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GhostlyGhoulies/pseuds/GhostlyGhoulies
Summary: Mordecai comes back from Grace's birthday party and Brick is concerned.





	After party blues

**Author's Note:**

> The only borderlands fics I've written are both Mordecai dealing with loss and Brick helping him out-
> 
> Aka: I like making Mordecai cry and I'm not nessicarly sorry

The heat of the Pandoran sun bared down on the berserker as he set down the last of the slabs of sheet metal amoungst the others. Brick smiled to himself as he wiped the beads of sweat of his forehead, stretching back into an upward posture as he admired his handiwork.

“There, just ‘nother couple and it’ll be done,” he said to himself, turning back around, perking up when he spotted the figure making it’s way up the path.

“Hey Mordy,” the man said enthusiastically to the sniper once he neared.

There was a silent nod of acknowledgement from the smaller man.

Brick wiped his hands on his jeans as he walked over to Mordecai.

“Did'ja have a fun time at the party?”

Mordecai visibly winced at the question, top lip twitching before locking his gaze to the ground, “Yeah, a real blast,” sarcasm coating his words.

Brick tilted his head, “Thought you were real 'cited for this, ya even got Grace that g-”

“I know, look, party didn’ ” he paused kicking at the dirt beneath his foot, his mouth felt as if he had shoved cotton in it, “Grace, she wasnt there, alright?”

“Not there?” The taller man repeated in confusion.

Mordecai nodded, “Look, party really took it out of me, I’m going to bed.”

“At 5 pm?”

“Yes.”

Brick stood there, watching the lanky sniper trug his way up to his perch.

“Man, what a party-pooper he is huh?”

Brick turned, brows lifting in surprise to see Tina, tinkering on one of her numerous demolitions, obviously eavesdropping the whole time.

His gaze returned to the taller structure, heart falling to the pit of his stomach as he saw the shadowed figure lowering his head into his hands before sinking down from view.

“Let 'em be, Tina,” Brick tore his gaze away before continuing, “how 'bout we get supper ready, yeah?”

–

Evenings in Pandora had a certain, sequestered feeling to them. A wide open, barren land, yet, evening sent a hush over the bloodlust and screeches that regularly filled the air.

Brick added small scraps of kindling to the fire, looking up to the starry night sky. At times, it was just nice to be able to sit and gaze. His attention was soon shifted when the crunching of small rocks and debris echoed closer.

Mordecai stood idly behind the bigger man, slowly shuffling besides him.

“Good sleep?”

Mordecai chuffed, letting himself take a seat besides the berserker.

“Is there such a thing as 'good’ rest on Pandora?” He said, pushing his goggles atop his head.

“Guess not, ain’t too bad up 'ere though. 'Less the bandits climb up,” Brick added.

“Mmhm,” Mordecai absently gave.

The sniper glanced around before grabbing hold of a nearby stick, starting to poke at the burning embers gingerly, watching the ashes lift into the air.

“So, Grace,” Brick began once the deafening silence grew to be too much, “she’s-”

“Yeah.”

“How’d she-”

“Vardkids nest.”

The quickness of the response sent a chill of concern over the man.

“Everything, everything alright, Mordy?”

Mordecai blinked slowly, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment as his chest tightened, heart thudding at an erratic rythm.

’S'not fair, Grace,“ his voice wavered, barely audible over the crackling of the fire, "she was just a kid,” Mordecai finished, turning his head towards Brick.

The berserker watched the illuminated visage of the other man, lips parting into a quiet, 'oh’ as the flickering lights revealed the glassy, glazed over eyes of the sniper.

“Come 'ere,” Brick softly spoke as he lifted the lanky sniper onto his lap.

Limbs weakly wrapped around his broad body without hesitation.

“It’s not fair,” he repeated, muffled in the nape of Brick’s neck.

“I know it ain’t, ain’t never fair when the good die, 'specially kids,” Brick mused, moving one hand over the smaller man’s shoulder blades, the other smoothing the sniper’s dreads back.

“She was so excited to turn 13,” he took a shakey breath, “at our last teaching I told her 'bout what Tina was doing at 13 and you know what she said?”

Brick hummed for a moment, hesitant in a sense, “What’d she say?”

“ 'Explosions and tea parties are cool and all Mordecai, but, give me a rifle and a varkid pit and I’ll be happier than a skagg in a trash-heap’,” he chuckled.

Brick’s brows raised at the laughter; the sniper’s breaths inbetween the strained chuckles grew ragged. Gradually, Mordecai’s shoulders continued to shake, despite the laughter dwindling to be inaudible.

“Mordy?”

“She always came out with remarks like that,” painful-dimples showing on his cheeks as he gave a tight lipped smile.

The berserker gave a sympathetic look. It was- painful for Brick to see Mordecai like this.

“_Mordecai_.”

Brick could feel the sniper’s fist clenching as he grasped at the fabric of his shirt; he wasn’t sure if it were out of anger or anguish.

Mordecai turned his visage back to the berserker, the pricking sensation finally sending the first tear to fall free, the rest following as an unbreakable stream. His jaw clenched in a feeble attempt to hold back the sob lodged tightly in his throat.

Within the hazed and blurred world spinning around him, Mordecai felt a steady hand curling around his small frame, holding him close. He pressed his face into the other man, soaking the shirt with warm tears as the wracking sobs fell past his parted lips.

Brick held the lanky sniper close, murmuring what he could only hope was being taken as reassurance.

After a small while the cries became hiccuped breaths.

The berserker looked down, smiling softly.

“Feel better?”

Mordecai nodded, scrubbing at his eyes, “Sorry, this is pathetic,” he said, shifting awkwardly.

Brick shrugged slightly, “Not pathetic, it’s s'okay to cry about this stuff.”

“Yeah, but,” the sniper fiddled with the strap of his goggles, “she wasn’t even my kid, I only knew her for little while, I don’t know, I guess I just, feel like I shouldn’t be this hung up on it,” Mordecai softly gave.

His stumbled words came to a halt once a hand cupped his cheek, tiliting his head up slightly.

“You got to know her and her dad, you even watched over her when her dad went for a supply line, 'member?”

Mordecai slowly nodded, eyes squinting as he tried to guess where Brick was going with this.

“And most parents wouldn’ leave their kid with someone they weren’t close to, yeah? What I’m sayin’ is you got close to them in short time. So,” Brick paused to wipe away the stray tears off the sniper’s cheeks, “It s'all okay to mourn.”

Mordecai pierced his lips together before pressing his cheek into the open palm of the bigger man, appreciative of the comments.

Brick smiled sincerely at the display of affection.

“You gonna be okay?” He asked.

Mordecai nodded, “Yeah, think so. And hey, thanks for dealing with my sad sack of bones,” he gave.

“Gotta make sure my buddies are doing okay too. Can’t change those sad bones int'a happy ones, can try to make 'em have a comfortable place to be though.”

The sniper chuckled genuinely as he patted at the man’s bicep, resuming his previous position on Brick’s lap. A small yawn escaped past his lips as he closed his eyes, “Well, you’re doing real good with that,” he sleepily mumbled out before allowing himself to finally let rest overcome him.

Brick smiled contentedly as he leaned back slightly, looking up to the smoke that lingered away from the dwindling fire, entwining with starry night sky.

In moments like this, he grew futher gratefully of the night’s hushed tones.

Once the fire finally let itself out, Brick stood up, walking back to his room, holding securely to the sleeping sniper.

He laied the man in his bed before climbing in himself.

“Good night, Mordy,” he whispered to the sleeping body once he settled in for the evening.


End file.
